Developers to give input on foreign quota

PUTRAJAYA: Input from local developers on foreign ownership of property will help give an idea of what the percentage of foreigners in a development should be, says the Housing and Local Government Minister.

Zuraida Kamarudin (pic) said a meeting would be held to listen to their views, following the issue involving the Forest City development in Johor.

She said Johor’s policy allowed up to 70% foreign ownership in Forest City, which mainly involved Chinese nationals.

“This is an issue that we have to study and review and see what is best to make sure that Malaysians are not sidelined.

“By listening to the views of other developers, we can get a clearer perspective on the issue of foreign ownership,” she said after attending the Local Government Council meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail here yesterday.

Asked if this meant that the percentage of foreigners who can own property in the much-­talked about development would be reduced, Zuraida said this had not been decided.

“I think the direction is to go for less,” she added.

Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad recently confirmed that Chinese nationals could purchase residential units at the US$100bil (RM410bil) Forest City, but reminded foreigners that this did not guarantee automatic residency in Malaysia.

His announcement that foreigners would be barred from buying properties at Forest City led to much confusion.

Zuraida said she had presented a preliminary report on the project to the Cabinet on Wednesday and would make a fresh presen­t­ation after more engagements were held, including with the Johor government and the developer.

The minister said the Cabinet was also considering a review on the Malaysia My Second Home programme to prevent abuse and control the number of foreigners.